Category Supply Side Inflation

Nov 2 2022

Biden Says There are 54 States – not 50 – Get with it folks!


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Nov 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

President Joe Biden has once again raised the question if he is mentally competent to lead the nation as he pushes us into World War III. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Biden declared that there are “54 states” in the United States despite the fact that there are only 50. Obviously, since Democrats reject any claim about his mental capacity when he signs whatever they put in front of him, so he must be assuming Ukraine is a state given all the money he sends them, Britain, and Germany for they do whatever the US instructs them to do, which merely leaves the 4th being a mystery.

Nov 2 2022

A Data Point to Understanding the DHS Portal Within Twitter is Found in Transcript of Former CEO Jack Dorsey


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on November 1, 2022 | Sundance

At this point in history, anyone who is claiming the U.S. Government is not directly coordinating with social media platforms to shape opinion and cull information adverse to their interests, is being intellectually dishonest.   There is simply too much evidence of the intelligence apparatus, specifically the Dept of Homeland Security, being enmeshed with the platforms of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google and Microsoft.

The DHS justifications for the relationship all involve claims of ‘national security’ and domestic terror threats.  However, the simple and transparent motivations of the relationship are all political.  The DHS terms of “disinformation, misinformation and malinformation” are simply excuses for the platforms to adhere to the demands of the government and censor or remove discussion that is against the interests of those in power.  The truth of this is in the sunlight now.

That said, the relationship between the intelligence community and social media is one of mutual benefit.  DHS gets to conduct surveillance and control permitted speech in the public square, and in return Big Tech gets assurances of their ability to continue monopolistic enterprise and simultaneously receive subsidies on operational costs.  The legislative branch allows this synergy without oversight because the legislative branch is in alignment with the larger ‘national security’ ruse.

Into this mix it is worth revisiting congressional testimony from former Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey on March 25, 2021.  The hearing was on “disinformation” [Transcript Link]:

A shared hashing protocol is a form of data system integration.   Look at what Dorsey was saying about “Blue Sky” his latest big tech initiative, on March 25,2021.

Now, remember the admissions in July, 2021:

July 26, 2021, (Reuters) – A counterterrorism organization formed by some of the biggest U.S. tech companies including Facebook (FB.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) is significantly expanding the types of extremist content shared between firms in a key database, aiming to crack down on material from white supremacists and far-right militias, the group told Reuters.

Until now, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism’s (GIFCT) database has focused on videos and images from terrorist groups on a United Nations list and so has largely consisted of content from Islamist extremist organizations such as Islamic State, al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Over the next few months, the group will add attacker manifestos – often shared by sympathizers after white supremacist violence – and other publications and links flagged by U.N. initiative Tech Against Terrorism. It will use lists from intelligence-sharing group Five Eyes, adding URLs and PDFs from more groups, including the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters and neo-Nazis.

The firms, which include Twitter (TWTR.N) and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube, share “hashes,” unique numerical representations of original pieces of content that have been removed from their services. Other platforms use these to identify the same content on their own sites in order to review or remove it. (more)

A shared hashing protocol is a form of data system integration.

When The Intercept is talking about portals between DHS and social media, the “shared protocols” is the technical name for the data integration between the U.S. government and Social Media.

Now…. again, keep in mind what Dorsey is saying about his Blue Sky network app for a new inclusive social media platform.  A network that would be established with these “shared protocols.”    Look carefully at what is written in the Intercept Article about the Intelligence Community engagement:

[…] Intelligence agencies backed new startups designed to monitor the vast flow of information across social networks to better understand emerging narratives and risks. (link)

Jack Dorsey is creating Blue Sky app, a new platform that will connect social media networks and will contain “shared protocols” with the Dept of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, the U.S. intelligence agencies are funding new startup companies to “monitor the vast flow of information across social media networks.”

Do you see it?

Dorsey is creating another Magic Coffee Shop.  This one will be called “Blue Sky.” It will contain shared protocols.

Against the previous government relationships established by Dorsey, the financing for this network is almost certainly coming from the U.S Intelligence Community.

Can you see it now?

Last point.

A prediction…..

Considering the multinational corporate relationships already established in this new WEF inspired fascist system,…. and considering that Blackrock and Vanguard are the largest shareholders in most major multinationals…… and considering that Blackrock is embedded in the White House via Tom Donilon…. Watch the multinational corporate advertisers all exit Twitter in an effort to kneecap Elon Musk as they switch to support…. wait for it…. Blue Sky!

A tripwire is now created: If Elon Musk continues to sing the praises of Jack Dorsey, then Musk is either naive to the scheming around him, or Musk is in on the scheme.

Tom Donilon is a deep DC swamp operator and has been for his entire career.  Donilon is connected to every tentacle of the Obama and Biden administrations.  Donilon is also the Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute. We have written about the conflicts {Go Deep Here} and {Go Deep Here}.

Tom Donilon’s literal job description at Blackrock is to “leverage the firm’s expertise and generate proprietary research to provide insights on the global economy, markets, geopolitics and long-term asset allocation,” and in June 2022 the State Dept appointed him as Co-Chair of the U.S. foreign policy advisory board.

Specifically, the Biden administration put Blackrock Investment Institute Chairman Tom Donilon in charge of U.S-China policy.

(STATE DEPT) – Today, Secretary Blinken announced his selections for the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.

Since its establishment in 2011, the Board has provided independent advice on the conduct of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy, consistent with each Secretary of State and administration’s evolving priorities for it.

Secretary Blinken has sought to build a diverse board that could advance the Department’s efforts to better root American diplomacy in the needs and aspirations of the American people. With expertise at the intersection of foreign and domestic policy, the Board will focus on the issues of increasing importance to the lives and livelihoods of Americans in the decade ahead, including cybersecurity and emerging technologies, climate and energy, international economics, global health, and strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China. (read more)

It doesn’t matter how sketchy the deep state tentacles are, their motives always come back to money.

There are trillions at stake.

Oct 31 2022

Young Americans Cannot Afford to be Healthy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Inflation Re-Posted Oct 31, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The Nationwide Retirement Institute conducted a study to determine how Americans are handling rising prices. Nearly one in five respondents (18%) said they had to forego a meal or grocery shopping due to inflation. Gen Z (28%) and Millennials (23%) reported higher rates of skipping meals. Over the past year, two in five households (40%) relied on food banks.

This is having an impact on health. Around 17% said that they no longer can afford healthier food options, which are notoriously more expensive than cheap, calorie-rich junk food. Fourteen percent admitted that they canceled or postponed plans to see a doctor, and 11% skipped out on their annual physical altogether due to the costs involved. An alarming 10% said that they are unable to afford their prescription medication. The younger generations like Gen Z (17%) and Millennials (19%) said that they cannot afford mental health care.

Staying healthy has become a luxury, as 14% of respondents had to downgrade their health insurance plans. Again, Gen Z (23%) and Millennials (20%) have been forced to sacrifice more than other generations. These two generations are also priced out of the housing market and strapped with debt. They are less likely to start families and are worse off than their parent’s generation. This will create a ripple effect as people who are unable to meet their basic needs will struggle to be productive members of society.

Oct 29 2022

Biden Solution to High Retail Food Prices, Eat Generics and Store Brands


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 28, 2022 | Sundance

CTH has covered the origin of food inflation since we first raised the alarms in the spring of 2020.  A confluence of events starting with the fracturing of the food supply chain (shutting down restaurants, hospitality venues, schools, cafeterias, etc), created the initial major problem.  Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sold at retail stores could not keep up with demand after 50% of the food supply system was shut down.

Within the U.S. retail food supply chain (350+ million people), manufacturing CPG products relies on a system of staying one to two harvest cycles ahead of demand.  However, when restaurants and fresh food venues were closed, very quickly frozen, bulk stored and siloed U.S. food storage systems, the storage needed for CPG products, were emptied.

Long after the time when all food distribution was reopened, the shortages of CPG products continued. You saw the result with empty shelves at the supermarket.  It takes a long time (years) for those inventories to refill.

We warned of this in 2020 and then followed the predictable outcome in 2021 and 2022.

When Joe Biden then shut down the U.S. energy production system in early 2021, the massive increases in energy costs -and the shortages of natural gas- became fuel on the inflationary fire of CPG goods.  Again, in October 2021 CTH noted that retail prices were going to rise quickly, and they did.

Throughout 2022 food prices have risen dramatically as the food distribution and processing system was now under pressure from all sides.  The shortage of inputs (to refill food storage and warehousing needs) combined with the much higher costs to generate those inputs -the direct result of the exploding energy costs- created massive inflation pressure.  The pricing result we are seeing now (third wave of food inflation) is exactly what we have stated, discussed and predicted for more than two years.

While all food costs are skyrocketing, the prices for manufactured or processed food are much higher than the price increases for fresh food.

While both fresh and CPG foods have risen in price due to energy costs, the processing of food uses more energy… and that energy comes at a higher price…. so the CPG inflation is much higher than the fresh half of the supply chain.

In essence, the CPG goods carry higher farming costs plus much higher manufacturing costs.

For those who say, ‘fresh food is healthier‘, you are correct.  However, let me also remind you that we cannot feed 350 million people with fresh food alone – and simultaneously export billions of tons of bulk food products like grain, corn and soybeans.

The U.S. food distribution system needs processed food for retail restaurants, cafeteria, lunchrooms and grocery stores.  [Ex. Italian restaurants will not start making pasta sauce from tomatoes, and if they did you likely couldn’t afford to eat there.]

So here comes Joe Biden, without a clue in the world of what I just described above.  And his food inflation solution?…. well, you just have to hear it yourself to see it.  WATCH (01:35, prompted): 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=EMlhs0sduhk%3Fstart%3D95%26feature%3Doembed

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[Wall Street Journal] – […]  The personal saving rate, a measure of how much money people have left over after spending and taxes, fell to 3.1% from 3.4% in August. It is down from 7.9% a year ago as consumers tap their rainy-day funds.

U.S. credit-card balances hit $916 billion in September, returning to prepandemic levels, credit-reporting firm Equifax Inc. said. Balances are up 9% from January and about 23% higher than their pandemic low in April 2021.

A closely watched reading of underlying inflationary pressures, meanwhile, picked up last month and remained near a four-decade high. When stripped of volatile food and energy prices, the PCE price index strengthened to a 5.1% year-over-year increase—the strongest pace since March.

Friday’s report comes on the heels of other data showing consumers’ momentum weakened in the summer months. Consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of total U.S. economic output. (read more)

Oct 28 2022

Climate Change War – US v Russia


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 27, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

As senior U.S. military officers deployed to NATO’s front line against Russia on the border with Ukraine have boasted that they are ready to join the fight. This provoked a response from Russia’s ambassador to the United States told Newsweek that such a move would bring about catastrophic ramifications. The commanders of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division who are now stationed just a few miles from the Romanian border with Ukraine are also making comments that they were ready to cross over in response to any escalation or attack on NATO.

This is all calling into question who the hell is the real commander and chief? President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated he was not going to send U.S. soldiers into Ukraine itself. The US has NOT sent troops to the borders of NATO since World War II. The National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby rushed to then say that “nothing has changed about the commander-in-chief’s decision that there will be no American troops fighting inside Ukraine.” This is raising serious concerns about who is really in charge and do we have a military so eager to jump in that we end up in WWIII because of all of this nonsense.

Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said, “we have already officially pointed out to high-ranking members of the US Government that such bravura statements by the U.S. Army commanders are inadmissible.” He further warned that Moscow would take these comments seriously. Behind the curtain, there is serious concern that Biden is just a puppet and has no idea that his administration is pushing the world to WWIII.

Antonov added: “We are not going to tolerate a situation where military threats are mounting on Russian borders… Direct participation of the U.S. military in the fighting will lead to disastrous consequences. I am convinced that further aggravation of the situation is not in Washington’s interests.”

There is absolutely no reason for the US to have troops stationed on the border. Russia is not interested in invading NATO and they too realize what that would mean. Stationing the Hard Rock Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), only increases the chance of war just like in Vietnam. This has been the first time in nearly 80 years that troops have been sent in this manner.

The Russian ambassador Antonov warned that “Washington is becoming increasingly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, turning the country’s territory into a battlefield with Russia.” If Russia sent nukes to Venezuela or stationed troops in Mexico, I seriously doubt the US would stand by silently.

Our War Model globally turned up in 2014 as I laid out at the 2011 World Economic Conference. I have warned that history will call this the Climate Change War. The Biden Administration is being run by climate zealots telling us our pets have to eat bugs along with us and they want to impose a federal tax to even have a pet of several thousand dollars to reoccur annually no less. These zealots want to wipe out Russia because they produce energy and that is 50% of the GDP. Having Ukrainians die for climate change is no problem – there are too many people anyway.

Even the Cuban Missile Crisis on a 51.6-year calculation turned back up on May 4th, 2014. The next 8.6-year wave will be 2023.008 which will be January 3rd, 2023. The peak of that wave will then be 2027.308  which is April 9th, 2027. These people have reignited the U.S.-Russia rivalry intensifying to levels not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Zelensky is sacrificing his country for money. You do not put your entire nation at risk for a strip of land that has always been occupied by Russians for centuries. He takes his orders from the Biden Administration and it is public knowledge that he was told not to negotiate for peace.

These Climate Change Zealots are bringing the world to complete disaster over total nonsense when Climate Change has been a natural cycle for millions of years. They ignore the history of the planet past 1850 because they want to simply blame everything on the Industrial Revolution. They have confused pollution with climate change and will not address that there have been warming periods and ice ages without people driving their SUVs.

The military always wants war. They get to play with all their cool stuff. They have been using Ukraine to study Russia’s tactics and weapons. This has been a fantastic learning experience for the military. The problem this time, one Russian nuclear sub can surface offshore and fire 60 nukes and we will not be able to shoot them all down.

Oct 28 2022

Joe Biden Claims Current Gas Prices Lower Than When He Took Office, States Falsely Gas Was Over $5/Gal When He Was Inaugurated


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 27, 2022 | sundance 

Will big tech and social media remove Joe Biden for violations of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation?  Considering his remarks today, they should.

Reading from a teleprompter loaded with lies about the economy, Joe Biden stunningly states that gas prices are lower today than when he took office. Further claiming that gasoline was $5/gal.  {Direct Rumble Link} Nothing about any of his economic claims is true.  WATCH (1 min):

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Allowing people to return to work after the pandemic lockdowns is not “creating jobs.”  And gasoline was not $5/gal when Joe Biden took office.